Actually, @jerv – it’s not a privilege thing. We have a LOT of half-way houses near our closest commuter train stop. (I’d say over a dozen. They are all single gender – meaning women only in one, men only in the other.) The residents are expected to work a job and/or complete their court-required community service (like picking up garbage along the highway). Many are being closely monitored for mental illness and/or addiction issues.
A few of the people I talked with (two women and a men) were working at Panera (one that was downtown – so they had to commute and were provided commuter passes) that had a Prison-to-job transition program. It was really interesting to me that this particular location/business took on these folks who would otherwise have trouble getting employment. It seemed like a win-win situation.
Each time I talked with one of the halfway house folks they told me they have VERY tight schedules with required check-ins, and some aren’t even allowed out for jobs/community service. (Learned a lot about this by talking to a few guys at the train stop and the nearby Cub.) They can’t drive. Have to rely on public transit. It’s still prison in a sense – just on step out of a big concrete building to a shared room in a place that looks like a crappy house.
This is a common way to alleviate over-crowding in our prisons and it’s for non-violent offenders and typically they are there for at least 6 months.
Many receive treatment (like Dialectical Behavior Therapy) to help them transition and make better choices. It’s not for privileged inmates – it’s for nearly ALL inmates that qualify.